Storm Touched p5 (Wednesday Briefs)

Welcome to my weekly Wednesday Brief flash fiction entry! This is just a free piece of flash fiction (between 500-1,000) words based off of a prompt. I’m part of a wonderful group of flashers 😉 and I’ll have a link to a site where you can read other stories, after my piece

The weight of Astrid’s words hung between us, I felt as though I could reach out, pluck them from the air and stuff them away in my pocket before anyone else could have the chance to hear. To suggest something as audacious as ridding myself of the uniform of the Touched—it frightened me more than the fact that I had left home. She was surely all shades of evil wrapped up in a beautiful package.

“What if someone finds out?”

“You stand out more in that.” She gestured at the uniform. “Wouldn’t you rather not attract attention?” She got up.

“You stand out more in that.” She gestured at the uniform. “Wouldn’t you rather not attract attention?” She got up.

“That is a point.” I said. My hands ran over the rough fabric, a soothing gesture, familiar and comforting. “I don’t have any money. Clothes require money.”

“I’ll pay for them, consider them a present.”

“You bought the transport amulet.”

Astrid bit her lower lip, I could almost see the gears turning in her mind. “Since yours is a matched pair with mine, technically the one who gave them to me, gave you yours.”

“Why do you want to take care of me? I’m nothing.” I threw my hands into the air, frustration causing my voice to rise. Birds fluttered out of the tall grass nearby taking to the sky.

“You aren’t nothing, Brooke, and I know it sounds ridiculous, but give it time. You’ll see that you’re worthwhile.” She gripped my wrists, bringing my hands down at the same time drawing me closer to her. Toe-to-toe, nose to nose, there was no where for me to look but her eyes. The prolonged contact was almost too much, I looked away, stepping a few inches back.

“Clothes.” I said, “We can get clothes, but know that I will repay you when I can.” Somehow I knew she’d never let me pay her back for any of this, and frankly besides the materialistic things there was no way I could pay her back.

“How are we going to get into town? You said we were pretty far away from it. Plus I don’t want to make you sick by transporting both of us again.” I said. Astrid still looked a bit pale and drawn, despite that she smiled brightly.

“I have a way to get us around.” Astrid said. She reached once more into her bag, a tattered leather thing that was slung across her body. “I couldn’t bring him with me, so I left him here, in this realm. I was in another realm but it wasn’t safe to bring you there. It won’t be safe to bring you there for a while.”

“Why not?” I asked as she brought the whistle to her lips and blew. I couldn’t hear anything, but she threaded one end through a leather thong and put it around her neck.

“Dregnr is not a place for anyone really, let alone someone who has just been liberated.” She said with a half shrug. “It’s a war torn realm and while I’m working there now, I was granted time to take care of you.”

“You’re a solider?”

She shook her head, looking past me, toward the forest. “No your brother and Darkforge are soldiers. I’m more of an information procurer.”

“What’s my role?”

Astrid turned her attention back to me. “You’re my other half. We’ll work together. We don’t have to figure all of that out now. What’s important now, is getting you used to the concept of being yourself again.”

From the tree line rose a large, dark shape. The shape took to the sky propelled by large wings, coming toward us. “Astrid?” I asked, taking a few steps backward, preparing to run if I had to.

“That’s our ride.” She said. “He won’t hurt you at all.” As the shape came closer I saw that it was red, larger than I thought with massive wings. The creature landed with a thump, the earth trembling under my feet. It folded it’s wings neatly against it’s back, amber eyes focused on Astrid. The face was reptilian, and intelligent, supported by a long sweeping neck. Spikes erupted from the skin at the base of the head and down the neck, stopping at the body, but continuing down the long tail. It was supported by four large, sturdy legs–the skin pebbly and cool under my fingers. I withdrew my hand before it realized I was touching it.

“Is that a dragon?” I had read about them in old books, books that I had censored so much that they should have been tossed into the incinerator at the back of the library.

“It is.” Astrid stroked the creature’s neck. “The first of the Touched brought them with them when they fled our home realm. This line of dragons comes from Drengr. There are a few here in this realm, but they’re much smaller and can be taught spells.” She said.

“Does it-he, have a name?”

I was rewarded by another brilliant smile from Astrid, and the attention of the dragon on me. “His name is Charlie.” Pink colored her cheeks, “I had a dog, and his name was Charlie. He was taken from me, so I named this one after him. He’s got the intelligence of a dog, so he knows some tricks. But no magic.”

“He’s pretty.” I said, in wonder of seeing something that I had only read about.

“Come on.” Astrid slung a saddle over the dragon’s back, securing it around the middle. “I don’t have a proper two-seater saddle, but this one is wide enough for now. I can find one when we’re in town.”

“We’re going to fly?” I looked from her, the dragon, to the sky. “Are you serious?”

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